I am pleased that our Nation has chosen to recognize and celebrate the history of the African American culture. History teaches us that every culture and every society endures good and bad, and it is essential that we continue to learn from our past. 

   From the days of early American statehood, when African Americans like Harriet Tubman and many others fought to gain freedom from slavery, to the inspiring civil rights movement fostered by the determination of individuals such as Rosa Parks, Daisy Bates, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to our current times today, African Americans have played a vital role in America's history. 

   Last month, as we celebrated Black History Month, I was reminded of how the contributions of African Americans have had a particular influence on my life. Growing up during the 1960s and 1970s in south Arkansas in small towns like Emmet, Hope, and Prescott, I was fortunate to be among the first generation to attend integrated public schools. 

   Those were difficult times for our Nation, but as the son of public school educators, I was taught early on that blacks and whites could live and work together and value each other's differences. 

   As many small schools did at that time, our elementary school in Emmet combined two grades in each classroom. The teachers had close relationships with the students, and had a profound influence on our young lives. 

   I remember that two particular teachers played a special role in my upbringing as a young student, perhaps because they were both African American, or perhaps because they were simply warm, caring individuals. Their names were Velma Rowe and Corrine Gilbert. 

   Ms. Rowe and Ms. Gilbert always went the extra mile to make a difference in our lives as students, whether it was providing encouragement when we were having trouble keeping up, guidance and discipline when we stepped out of line, or congratulations for a job well done. 

   I may have been too young at that time to fully understand the history of racial inequality in our country, but looking back, they gave me a special insight into the important role of African Americans in our community and in our society. The impact of their example as teachers and as leaders in the African American community helped to shape my view, as I grew older, that we must all work together to accept each other and respect our differences. 

   In class, Ms. Rowe and Ms. Gilbert taught all of us that we were each important as individuals, no matter what our race or background, no matter whether we were rich or poor, and that we must show respect for all those around us. They instilled in us the value of a good education, and that, with hard work, determination, and a good heart, we could build a better world. 

   On Sunday, February 18, my wife, Holly, and our two children, Sydney Beth and Alex, joined me in attending the black history program at Greater Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. I had the privilege of participating with African Americans, young and old, in the program, which highlighted historical accomplishments of African Americans, named by using each letter of the alphabet from A to Z. 

   The service was a great opportunity for my family and me to reflect on how far we have come in the last 150 years towards the goal of racial harmony in this country, and yet, how far we still have to go in the continued battle for civil justice. 

   As I told Pastor Lewis Shepherd's congregation following the program, we must continue to reflect on black history throughout the year as we work together to foster greater understanding so that we can bridge the racial gaps that still exist in today's world. 

   I can only imagine what it was like for Ms. Rowe and Ms. Gilbert when they were growing up in the segregated South, and what challenges and obstructions they had to face each and every day. 
   As adults, they used their lives and experiences to bring people together and to serve as role models for me and so many students. Our challenge is to be the Ms. Rowes and Ms. Gilberts of today.